Suspect in 2023 Saskatoon shooting pleads guilty to manslaughter

A Saskatoon man who shot another man near an elementary school on a weekday morning in 2023 is going to prison.

Shane Thomas, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday at Court of King's Bench to manslaughter in the death of 34-year-old Damien Sanderson. Thomas was originally charged with second-degree murder and scheduled to stand trial next month.

The shooting happened around 8:30 a.m. CST on a Wednesday morning in June 2023 in front of a duplex across from Pleasant Hill Community School.

Justive Mona Dovell accepted a joint sentencing submission of nine years from prosecutor Oryn Holm and defence lawyer Blaine Beaven. With credit for time on remand, Thomas's net sentence is 6.4 years.

Sanderson's family filled two rows in the gallery at Court of King's Bench. Two of his brothers, an aunt and his foster mother all submitted victim impact statements.

They described a man with "dreams, hopes, aspirations" who overcame life challenges, and loved and respected family.

"This left an enormous hole in my life," said his younger brother, Dustin Hills.

"I do not want to live my life in hatred and darkness."

• Suspect charged with 2nd-degree murder in connection with Saskatoon shooting

Holm and Beaven presented an agreed statement of facts. Holm said that one of the reasons for opting for an early resolution is that no reliable narrative of what happened emerged in the investigation.

There were two men with Sanderson when he was shot. One man refused to speak with police. The second gave a statement, but later recanted it, Holm said.

This effectively left Thomas's version.

At the time, police said they searched three houses in connection to the homicide investigation. They recovered four firearms, one replica firearm, two bulletproof vests and ammunition.

Holm read the statement of facts in court.

It said that Thomas had been up all night drinking and smoking meth. On the morning of the shooting, he went with two other men to a house on Avenue S South. Holm later said they were going to sell drugs to people at the house and then use the cash to pay a drug debt.

They arrived at the house to find Sanderson sleeping with a woman who had previously been Thomas's girlfriend, the statement said.

This triggered a confrontation outside.

"Mr. Sanderson had a rifle, and Mr. Thomas indicated that Mr. Sanderson pointed the rifle at him and pulled the trigger, but then stopped aiming and started to work the action of the firearm, which suggested to Mr. Thomas that the gun was not loaded properly," the statement said.

"Mr. Thomas then pulled out his rifle and shot once toward the group and ran off."

That shot hit Sanderson in the chest. He died in hospital.